Hello everyone!

I recently received my conditional offer of admission, and have accepted the offer on the OUAC.

From the information that i could gather, there are at least 3 things to do,
1) submitting the New Student Form to get the Student ID card.
2) submitting the application for residence through the internet.
3) submitting my final transcripts to the registrar.

Did i miss out on anything to do?

I also read something on SOLAR, but i don't really understand what it's about.
Could someone please help tell me about it?

Oh, and i'm currently residing outside canada, and will be landing sometime towards the end of june. Will i be getting any sort of "offer of admission" package through the mail?

any help or advice will be very appreciated!!

I don't really remember what I did first year, but just wait for your package in the mail. You should confirm by phone if you're properly registered, etc, then check out mugsi whenever you want.. SOLAR doesn't really matter unless you're enrolling in summer courses, otherwise you have to wait till June or so to register for courses.

I think first year Engineering is a common program, not sure theres anything specific to mechanical?

You already did the most important thing though, you signed up to Macinsiders! Welcome!

Oh my God. I typed up the most epic response and then I clicked on your profile to see if you were a guy or a girl before addressing you by gender and everything got wiped because it didn't open up in a new tab.

______

SOLAR is the portal through which you pick your courses during the school year, summer terms and where you declare your choices for your major at the end of first year. It's also where you confirm how you'll be paying the university through something called a Payment Agreement which is a financial summary of what you owe them and gives you the option of checking whether you want to pay through instalments, scholarships, or in full, etc.

MUGSI is the gateway to SOLAR. MUGSI allows you to access SOLAR but also other things like your personal exam timetable, your tax certificates for your tuition, change your password that corresponds to your Mac ID, etc.

MUGSI is like the homepage of any forum. SOLAR is that one thread you click on where you discuss that great music you love.

The reason you'll hear a lot about SOLAR is because it's loathed with a vehement passion.
Let me explain further:

To access SOLAR, you must log onto MUGSI.
Which sounds fine until you click on "Log Into Gateway" and receive this: "The maximum number of students are presently logged on MUGSI. Each student has a 45 minute time limit. Please try again later."

This is actually a great opportunity for you to smash some ugly china or porcelain into a wall. When anybody asks you why you're making so much noise, simply suggest they try the process themselves. Then you will have another friend who you can also smash dinner plates with.

Once you brave the fiery depths of this excruciating hell, you'll breathe a sigh of relief. You'll click on "SOLAR". And you'll see this: "The maximum number of students are presently logged on SOLAR. Each student has a 45 minute time limit. Please try again later."

This may make you feel like you're in intractable pain. While you may be overcome by the uncontrollable desire to burn things, I ask that you don't. Please proceed with smashing things once more, or feel free to join us on MacInsiders and find other people to complain with. It's very therapeutic.

The first time you log on SOLAR, you'll be selecting WHAT courses you want to take and whether you wish to take them in the day, or in the evening if the course does have an evening section.

Then SOLAR shuts down. (And LUNAR opens up. No, I'm kidding)
It sections you.

So let's say you're taking Eng CUTE. There may be 3 "cores" or sections and maybe a tutorial. SOLAR will assign you to C01 perhaps, and T01. It may assign that really annoying kid next door to C01 and T01 as well. However, it may assign that incredibly good looking girl to C03 and T02.

Then SOLAR opens up for everybody and everybody rushes on in a mad dash to pick convenient times or...coordinate times with people they find incredibly attractive because they also want to coordinate chromosomes with said people.

This is when a lot of 4th years go "YOU KNOW WHAT I'M REALLY PiSSED CAUSE I'M GRADUATING AND SOME S**F&FEWR&WER&W*ER&*W *RING THIRD YEAR/SECOND YEAR/FIRST YEAR TOOK THE COURES I WANT"

This is natural. Since you are a first year, you can simply observe their response and make a mental note of it later and do this in your fourth year. Don't worry; you'll have time.

SOLAR is quite painful but the best way to survive it is to fuel yourself with carbs and regular hydration (not too much though, unless you're located 1 foot away from or IN a bathroom; kidneys are not an acceptable excuse for letting SOLAR get the best of you.)

Don't get overwhelmed though; after it opens up for everybody you still have a ton of time to change your courses.

Originally Posted by rcrw88

I think first year Engineering is a common program, not sure theres anything specific to mechanical?

If you did exceptionally well in high school then you get the program you picked on OUAC guaranteed. In this case he selected mechanical.

Don't worry too much about Solar. You'll be in first year engineering and you'll only have 2 electives to choose. Most people tend to do Econ 1B03 to keep the option of enrolling into the management program open. These people also like to take their 2nd elective as Econ 1BB3 as well (like me ).

http://registrar.mcmaster.ca /regis...bVer sion.pdf

There are the entry dates for Solar. As you can see first years go last so you won't have first pick on the electives with high demand, but I don't think that will be a problem for you.

And I know you got the guarantee for mechanical, but don't make that keep you form exploring other options! I always wanted to do mechanical, but I was very close to changing my mind after first year and head into materials or mechatronics engineering. And hey if you do still stick with mechanical at the end, welcome aboard! Good luck! If you have any other questions then just ask, cause all us upper year engineering students have already been through first year and we can defiantly help out.

Originally Posted by goodnews.inc

Oh my God. I typed up the most epic response and then I clicked on your profile to see if you were a guy or a girl before addressing you by gender and everything got wiped because it didn't open up in a new tab.

Epic post

The bit about SOLAR closing and LUNAR opening cracked me up

I'm not sure what you are saying about getting the first choice from OUAC if you have guaranteed choice? That's not true...

Here's the thing, to the OP: You got into McMaster, and if you had over ~90% from highschool, you are guaranteed your choice at the end of first year. So when EVERYONE has to go on SOLAR and choose, you will do the same. Differene is, your choice will be the first one through, and you will get Mechanical (for example) if you choose mechanical. First year is your chance to explore all the options though! I went in thinking Electrical and Computer: I can't wait for Civil now! 8 months go by and your career choice can change by a fair amount. That's why I can't imagine who woould want to go into a non-general first-year engineering program. I'm not sure my 50 year old self would trust my hardly-educated 17 year old self in my career choice when I'm having that thing they call a midlife crisis

Originally Posted by mike_302

I'm not sure what you are saying about getting the first choice from OUAC if you have guaranteed choice? That's not true...

I recall people getting first pick only for certain programs, I initially thought what you said was the case before I entered first year too .

I had no idea what i'd like in first year; i can't imagine people knowing what they want to do from their highschool...

Originally Posted by khaotic

I recall people getting first pick only for certain programs, I initially thought what you said was the case before I entered first year too .

When we apply on OUAC though, we don't know if we get first choice... And I also picked Civil in Solar a couple of weeks back... I had first choice, and I think I MIGHT have put electrical if McMaster asked for a specific strain back when I applied. IF I end up in electrical after all of first year, I will be more than extremely angry... What's the next level on the angry scale?

RAGE!

Anyway, grats to OP for getting in

Congrats on getting in.. and welcome to the MacInsiders Community!! Hopefully we'll see you around more often now

Originally Posted by mike_302

When we apply on OUAC though, we don't know if we get first choice... And I also picked Civil in Solar a couple of weeks back... I had first choice, and I think I MIGHT have put electrical if McMaster asked for a specific strain back when I applied. IF I end up in electrical after all of first year, I will be more than extremely angry... What's the next level on the angry scale?

No, you've got it right; because Eng I is general, what you specified in OUAC is ignored. In any case they'll look at your rankings/selection that you make in March after first year in SOLAR. So if you have free choice and selected civil, you should end up in civil.

Note that free choice doesn't apply to any of the special 5 year programs, like Management, Society, Biomed, etc (you still have to qualify for those). For example, my admissions offer gave me free choice in discipline after first year and I selected Eng Phys and Management. I knew that I would make it into Eng Phys as long as I didn't fail anything, but I still had to make the cut to get into Management.

hello again everyone!

I guess i forgot to give a little introduction about myself.
Well, I'm a guy and I come from singapore, previously studied engineering at diploma level in a polytechnic. So i do in a way, know which aspect of engineering i would like to study.

In an email that was sent to me from the registrar, it says that i've been admitted in Engineering 1.
Does this mean that i'll have to re-select my area of specialisation again at the end of the first year, and that there's a possibility that i might not be allowed to do mechanical?


Oh and regarding getting registered, is submitting the New Student Form and activating my MacID all that's neccessary? Are there any financial deposits I will have to make before the school term starts?

Originally Posted by Williec

hello again everyone!

I guess i forgot to give a little introduction about myself.
Well, I'm a guy and I come from singapore, previously studied engineering at diploma level in a polytechnic. So i do in a way, know which aspect of engineering i would like to study.

In an email that was sent to me from the registrar, it says that i've been admitted in Engineering 1.
Does this mean that i'll have to re-select my area of specialisation again at the end of the first year, and that there's a possibility that i might not be allowed to do mechanical?


Oh and regarding getting registered, is submitting the New Student Form and activating my MacID all that's neccessary? Are there any financial deposits I will have to make before the school term starts?

Yes, you will have to apply to Level II programs following first year (It'll actually be during first year, sometime in March). If you do poorly in first year then you won't get into the programs you want.

If you applied to residence and have been given a guaranteed room then you have to pay a deposit. If not then there shouldn't be any payments yet.